The interferons (IFN) constitute a group of secreted proteins which exhibit a wide range of biological activities and are characterized by their capacity to induce an antiviral state in vertebrate cells (I. Gresser and M. G. Tovey Biochem Biophys. Acta 516:231, 1978). There are three antigenic classes of IFN: alpha (xcex1), beta (xcex2) and gamma. IFNxcex1 and IFNxcex2 together are known as the type I interferon.
Natural type I human interferon comprises 12 or more closely related proteins encoded by distinct genes with a high degree of structural homology (Weissmann and Weber, Prog. Nucl. Acid. Res. Mol. Biol. 33:251, 1986).
The human IFNxcex1 locus comprises two subfamilies. The first subfamily consists of 14 non allelic genes and 4 pseudogenes having at least 80% homology. The second subfamily, xcex1II or omega (xcfx89), contains 5 pseudogenes and 1 functional gene which exhibits 70% homology with the IFNxcex1 genes (Weissmann and Weber 1986).
The subtypes of IFNxcex1 have different specific activities but they possess the same biological spectrum (Streuli et al. PNAS-USA 78:2848, 1981) and have the same cellular receptor (Agnet M. et al. in xe2x80x9cInterferon 5xe2x80x9d Ed. I. Gresser p. 1-22, Academic Press, London 1983).
The interferon xcex2 (IFNxcex2) is encoded by a single gene which has approximately 50% homology with the IFNxcex1 genes.
The interferon xcex1 subtypes and interferon xcex2 bind to the same receptor on the cell surface.
The interferon gamma (IFN gamma) is also encoded by a single copy, which has little homology with the IFNxcex1 and IFNxcex2 genes. The receptor for IFN gamma is distinct from the receptor of the xcex1 and xcex2 interferons.
For the purpose of the present invention the receptor of xcex1 and xcex2 classes of IFN will be designated IFN-R. This represents natural type I receptor. The group of proteins forming natural interferon xcex1 will be designated IFNxcex1, and type I-IFN will represent both natural IFNxcex1, IFNxcfx89, and IFNxcex2.
Despite the fact that interferon is a potent antiviral agent, there is considerable evidence to suggest, that many of the characteristic symptoms of acute virus diseases such as upper respiratory tract infections are caused by an overproduction of interferon alpha. Furthermore, IFN alpha has been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of certain chronic virus infections in experimental animals and the available evidence suggests that this is also the case for certain human chronic virus diseases such as those due to measles virus.
The interferons xcex1 are also potent immuno-regulatory molecules which stimulate polyclonal B-cell activation, enhance NK cell cytotoxicity, inhibit T-cell functions, and modulate the expression of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class 1 antigens, all of which are implicated in the induction of autoimmunity and in graft rejection. The abnormal production of interferon xcex1 is associated with a number of autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), type I diabetes, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Behcet""s disease, aplastic anemia, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and severe combined immunodeficiency disease. The presence of interferon xcex1 in the serum of patients with systemic lupus is correlated with both the clinical and humoral signs of increased disease activity. The production of interferon xcex1 in HIV positive subjects is also highly predictive of disease evolution.
Administration of interferon xcex1 has been reported to exacerbate underlying disease in patients with psoriasis and multiple sclerosis and to induce a SLE like syndrome in patients without a previous history of autoimmune disease. Interferon xcex1 has also been shown to induce glomerulonephritis in normal mice and to accelerate the outset of the spontaneous autoimmune disease of NZB/W mice.
Interferon xcex1 is also produced during the course of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in parallel with the enhanced NK cell activity characteristic of systemic GVDH. Interferon xcex1 is the principal modulator of NK cell cytotoxicity and administration of interferon xcex1 has been shown to enhance the intestinal consequences of GVDH in normal mice.
The object of the present invention is to provide new antagonists against the biological activities of the human type I-IFN. These antagonists could be used for therapeutical, including prophylaxis purposes, in cases where the type I-IFN (IFN xcex1/xcex2) is abnormaly produced and when this abnormal production is associated with pathological symptoms. Such antagonists could also be used for the diagnosis of various diseases or for the study of the evolution of such diseases.
In order to define such antagonists, the inventors have taken into account the fact that the human natural type I-IFN is in fact constituted of a mixture of interferons (subspecies) and the fact that the composition of this association of different subtypes of interferons varies both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Some natural interferons, such as the ones secreted by Namalwa cells (Namalwa interferon) or leukocyte (leucocyte interferon) have been studied in detail (N. B. Finter and K. H. Fautes, Interferon 2, 1980, p. 65-79 I. Gresser Editor Academic Press; K. Cantell et al, Interferon 1, 1979 p. 2-25, I. Gresser Editor Academic Press) and were used by the inventors to define natural type I interferons.
In some pathological cases, like AIDS, interferons having some special properties have been described (O. T. Preble et al, Annals of New-York Academy of Sciences p. 65-75). This interferon involved in pathological cases like AIDS nevertheless binds to the same receptor, as described above.
One object of the present invention is to provide an antagonist of the type I-IFN, which would be able to inhibit or neutralize, to a determined extent, the biological properties of the human type I-IFN, that is to say, to neutralize in vivo a mixture of xcex1, xcex2, xcfx89 subspecies.
Accordingly the inventors have defined antibodies, especially monoclonal antibodies, which have the property of being antagonists to the type I-IFN. These antibodies are directed against the human type I-IFN receptor.
The invention thus also concerns the use of the monoclonal antibodies for the preparation of pharmaceutical compositions, useful for the treatment of symptoms associated with the abnormal production of type I-IFN. These monoclonal antibodies are also appropriate for the preparation of diagnosis reagents.
A monoclonal antibody according to the present invention is directed against the human type I-interferon receptor (IFN-R) and is characterized by the following properties:
it recognizes the extracellular domain of the human IFN-R, and
it has a neutralizing capacity against the biological properties of the human type I-IFN.
The ability to neutralize the biological properties of type I-IFN can be estimated as a function of the capacity of the monoclonal antibody to neutralize the antiviral activity of the type I-IFN. Such a test is relevant in order to determine whether the antibody assayed is included within the scope of the invention, although it is clear that the biological properties of type I-IFN are not limited to its antiviral properties. Detailed procedures are given in the examples in order to enable to perform such a test of the antiviral activity. The cells tested can advantageously be Daudi-cells, which affinity for the type I-IFN is well known. The main steps of such a test would consist in:
incubating a determined concentration of human cells responsive to human type I-IFN, with human type I-IFN in the presence of a determined concentration of monoclonal antibodies to be assayed, for a time sufficient to allow the formation of a complex between the monoclonal antibodies and the IFN-R of the human cells and/or between the type I-IFN and the IFN-R of the human cells;
infecting the incubated cells with a determined virus, in a determined concentration,
washing the cells,
resuspending the cells in culture medium,
incubating for a time sufficient to allow virus replication;
lysing the cells;
measuring the virus replication, or measuring the inhibition of the cytopathic effect.
The ability of the monoclonal antibodies of the invention to neutralize the biological properties of the human type I-IFN can be modulated as a function of the dose of antibodies used. Accordingly a 100% inhibition of the biological properties, or a partial inhibition can be obtained.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the monoclonal antibodies directed against the human type I-IFN receptor, are further characterized by the fact that they are capable of inhibiting the binding of a human type I-IFN, to the human IFN-R.
A monoclonal antibody having the capacity to recognize the extracellar domain of the human IFN-R and capable of inhibiting the binding of the human type I-IFN to its receptor, can be selected by the following steps:
preincubating a determined concentration of purified monoclonal antibodies or a hybridoma culture supernatant containing monoclonal antibodies to be assayed, with human cells capable of harboring IFN-R;
adding labelled human type I-IFN, in a determined concentration, to the above preincubated medium;
incubating the medium containing the human cells, the monoclonal antibodies and the labelled type I-IFN for a time sufficient to allow an equilibrium to occur, between the monoclonal antibodies on the one hand and the type I-IFN on the other hand, with the cellular IFN-R;
washing the cells;
determining the formation of a binding complex between the human cells and the labelled type I-IFN by counting the amount of attached labelled type I-IFN.
Some of the monoclonal antibodies of the invention, have also the capacity to neutralize the antiproliferative properties of the human type I-IFN. This property can also be assayed on Daudi cells, by performing the following steps:
allowing cells to grow in presence of human type IFN and determined concentration of mAb;
counting the cells in order to detect an inhibition of the antiproliferative effect of the human type I-IFN.
One property of a monocolonal antibody according to the invention resides in its capacity to recognize the extracellular domain of the human IFN receptor. This property of the monoclonal antibody can be assayed on human cells bearing the natural human receptor but also on the extracellular domain of a recombinant IFN-R such as expressed in a procaryotic cell, for instance in E. coli or a recombinant IFN-R such as expressed in a eucaryotic cell such as mamalian cell for instance a CHO-cell.
This receptor can indeed present different properties, depending on the fact that it is produced in a procaryotic or eucaryotic cell and accordingly depending on the fact that the post-translational maturation occurred or not. The inventors interestingly showed that relevant assays, to evaluate the capacity of a monoclonal antibody according to the invention i.e. to recognize the cellular IFN-R, can be performed on a recombinant receptor expressed in mamalian cells. As a matter of fact, such recombinant receptor has the same properties as the cellular receptor, as far as its recognizing activity is concerned.
Monoclonal antibodies of the invention can be obtained against various forms of the receptor, including the complete receptor, a particular domain or a peptide characteristic of the amino acid sequence of the receptor represented in FIGS. 3A and 3B (SEQ ID NO: 4).
Monoclonal antibodies of the invention can for example be prepared against the soluble form of the receptor. A hydrosoluble polypeptide corresponding to the soluble form of the IFN-R is described in FIGS. 2A and 2B (SEQ ID NO: 2).
Other monoclonal antibodies according to the invention can also be prepared against a peptide comprised in the extracellular domain of the receptor as described in FIGS. 2A and 2B (SEQ ID NO: 2). An advantageous peptide corresponds for instance to the amino acid sequence comprised between amino acid 1 and amino acid 229. According to another embodiment of the invention, the antibodies can be prepared against a polypeptide modified by substitution of one or more amino acids, provided that antibodies directed against the non-modified extracellular domain of the IFN-R recognize the modified polypeptide or peptide.
Preferred monoclonal antibodies according to the invention are those which are of the IgG1 type.
Among the antibodies of the invention, an antibody which has the capacity of inhibiting the binding of the type I-IFN to its receptor is preferably characterized in that it inhibits the in vitro binding of human type IFN, to the human cellular IFN-R when it is co-incubated with cells harboring the hu-IFN-R, at a concentration of antibodies equal or inferior to 100 xcexcg/ml, preferably equal or inferior to 50 xcexcg/ml, advantageously inferior to 20 xcexcg/ml, more preferably in the range of approximately 0.5 to 2 xcexcg/ml.
The inventors have shown that the high affinity binding capacity of a monoclonal antibody is not sufficient to ensure that this antibody will be able to inhibit the binding activity of the human type I-IFN to the IFN-R. Nevertheless the high affinity binding capacity of the monoclonal antibody is necessary to investigate further the ability of the antibody to inhibit the binding of the type I-IFN to its cellular receptor.
Another monoclonal antibody is characterized in that it neutralizes in vitro the antiproliferative activity of human type I-IFN, on cells highly responsive to this human type I-IFN, for instance Daudi cells at a concentration in a range of 1 to 10 xcexcg/ml.
According to another embodiment a monoclonal antibody is also characterized in that it neutralizes in vitro the antiproliferative activity of human type IFN, on cells poorly responsive to this human IFN, for instance Ly28 cells, at a concentration in a range of 50 to 100 xcexcg/ml.
A particular group of monoclonal antibodies according to the invention is characterized in that it neutralizes the antiviral activity of the human type I-IFN, on cells highly responsive to this human type I-IFN, for instance Daudi cells at a concentration in a range of 1 to 50 xcexcg/ml, preferably 1 to 20 xcexcg/ml, for a concentration of type I-IFN in the range of 1 to 1000 units with reference to the international standard MRC 69/19.
Advantageously, the monoclonal antibody according to the invention is such that these antibodies do not bind to the human receptor for IFN gamma.
One particular antibody satisfying the requirements of the invention, is such as it directed against an epitope on the amino-acid sequence comprised between amino acid 27 and amino acid 427 of the extracellular domain of the human IFN-R as represented in FIGS. 2A and 2B (SEQ ID NO: 2).
One particularly interesting monoclonal antibody according to the invention is the antibody designated 64G12 under no 92022605 which has been deposited at the ECACC (European Collection of Animal Cell Cultures Porton Down Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 056, United Kingdom) on Feb. 26, 1992.
These antibodies may be prepared by conventional methods involving the preparation of hybridoma cells by the fusion of myeloma cells and spleen cells of an animal immunized beforehand with the peptide antigen, on the conditions such that the antigen against which the antibodies are formed is constituted by the extracellular domain of IFN-R or any polypeptide or peptide of this domain.
The hybridomas are constructed according to the protocole of Kohler and Milstein (Nature, 1974, 256: 495-497). For example the hybridomas are derived from the fusion of the spleen cells above described with NS1 mouse (BalbC) HGPRTxe2x88x92 as myeloma cell.
A second procedure for the production of monoclonal antibodies according to the invention, consists in carrying out the fusion between B-cells of blood immortalized with the Epstein/Barr virus and human B lymphocytes placed beforehand in contact with the extracellular domain or a fragment thereof of the IFN-R, against which it is decided to form monoclonal antibodies. B-cells placed in contact beforehand with the extracellular domain of IFN-R or fragment thereof against which it is decided to form monoclonal antibodies, may be obtained by in vitro culture contacted with the antigens, the recovery of the B-cells coated with these antigens being preceded by one or several cycles of stimulation.
The invention thus concerns human antibodies as obtained by carrying out the above procedure, having the above defined properties.
The invention also aims at providing a monoclonal antibody characterized in that the variable or complementary determining regions of its heavy and/or light chains are grafted on the framework and/or constant regions of a human antibody.
The invention further provides a composition having antagonist properties for the biological properties of the human type I-IFN, characterized in that it comprises monoclonal antibodies as defined above.
Accordingly the invention provides a pharmaceutical composition characterized in that it comprises monoclonal antobodies as defined above, together with an appropriate pharmaceutical vehicle.
The invention also concerns the use of a monoclonal antibody as defined above, for the manufacture of a drug for the treatment or profilaxis of a pathological state or symptoms associated with overproduction of type-I-IFN.
According to a first example, the antibodies can be used in a pharmaceutical composition, for the treatment of allograft rejection.
According to another example, antibodies of the invention are used as active principle in a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Such diseases include systemic lupus erythematosus, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Behcet""s disease, asplatic anemia, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and severe combined immunodeficiency disease.
Treatment of acute virus diseases can also be performed with the antibodies of the invention. As example upper respiratory tract infections, chronic virus infections such as those due to measles virus, can be performed.
The antibodies of the invention can also be used for the in vitro diagnosis of the presence of the human type I-IFN receptor or cells.
Further details and additional information will arise from the description from the description of the examples and from the figures.